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Economic Challenges in the CENTROPE Region1

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Economic Challenges in the CENTROPE Region1 √ Workshops Proceedings of OeNB Workshops New Regional Economics in Central European Economies: The Future of CENTROPE New Regional Economics in Central European Economies European Economics in Central Regional New 9 March 30 to 31, 2006 No. Workshops N0. N0. Workshops EUROSYSTEM 9 Economic Challenges in the CENTROPE Region1 Gerhard Palme Austrian Institute of Economic Research Martin Feldkircher Institute for Advanced Studies “CENTROPE” is a region that was established by policy makers in several countries in Central Europe as a platform for cross-border coordination and cooperation. The will to cooperate across borders is driven by the understanding that the competitiveness of the region as a whole can be improved by working together. In doing so they are proceeding from the assumption that this (border) region, which has moved from the edge to the middle of Europe, can now assume the function of a bridge. A situation analysis will give details of the strengths and weaknesses of this region. For reasons of data availability the analysis is divided into a national and a regional section. In the national section information about the competitiveness and its determining causes will be given for those Central European countries that are found in the CENTROPE region: Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. In the regional section the emphasis will be placed on the structural and also partly functional characteristics of the CENTROPE region. In doing so, CENTROPE as a region will be defined as consisting of the following NUTS 2 (Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics) regions: Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland, West Transdanubia, Bratislava, Western Slovakia, South Moravia and South Bohemia.2 1. Favourable Cost and Market Factors in Central Europe Central Europe is an interesting sales market. The four small Central European countries constitute a relatively wealthy and dynamic economic area, even though the level of prosperity is lower than in the European Union, which is clear since the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are transition countries. Overall, the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) in Central 1 This is a short version of a project report that can be found under http://www.oenb.at/ de/service_veranst/fruehere_va/va2006/HZZ_Workshop/speeches_papers.jsp 2 In contrast to the definition used in this paper, South Bohemia is not always considered a part of the CENTROPE region. 88 WORKSHOPS NO. 9/2006 ECONOMIC CHALLENGES IN CENTROPE Europe was about 14.3% below the average of the EU-25 (2004). The transition countries of Central Europe only started to change to market economies in the early 1990s and only became members of the European Union3 in 2004. However, they have higher per capita income than all the “new” EU members together. Also, Austria generated a higher GDP per capita than all the “old” members of the EU- 15. Furthermore, Central Europe is very dynamic, which helps its market perspectives. Since surmounting the transition crisis in the middle of the 1990s, the new EU Member States of Central Europe are now in a catching-up phase. With the exception of the Czech Republic, in the last ten years they have shown economic growth that is clearly above the EU average. Another important location factor is the relatively low labour costs. To be sure, Austria has a high wage level, but due to high productivity its unit labour costs are relatively low. In the new EU Member States of Central Europe wages and unit labour costs are relatively low. Moreover, the unit labour costs might be improving because the transition countries are quickly catching up in productivity. Technological progress is particularly important, in order to survive competition from the “new low-wage countries” (e.g., Rumania, Bulgaria). Aside from low labour cost advantages, Central Europe has also become an attractive location for business investments due to the relatively low taxes on businesses. Particularly in recent times taxes on business have been in part significantly lowered, and not only in some of the new Member States (e.g., Slovakia, Hungary), but partially as a reaction to that, also in Austria. The dramatic structural changes in the transition countries of Central Europe have had their effects on the labour markets. Employment trends have remained muted, and unemployment has increased. Still, labour market conditions are not any more adverse than in the European Union. Labour participation is comparable to the European average; however, older employees are more likely to exit the labour market. The unemployment rate (Central Europe 2004 8.3%) is in fact about one percentage point below the average of the EU-25 (9.2%). An exception is Slovakia, which has a very high rate of unemployment (18.2%). 3 These will be referred to below as the “new EU Member States”. WORKSHOPS NO. 9/2006 89 ECONOMIC CHALLENGES IN CENTROPE Chart 1: Indicators of the Regions in Central Europe (EU-25=100) Gross domestic product (KKP) per capita 2002 (0.172) Centrope Other regions in Central Productivity 2002 (0.124) Europe Gross wages 2002 (0.058) Employment rate; 15-64 years; 2003 (0.058) Working population with tertiary education 2003 (0.536) R&D expenditure per inhabitant 2002 AT 1998 (0.662) Unemployment rate 2003 (0.451) Share of Manufacturing. Energy 2002 (0.392) Share of Market Services 2002 (0.372) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Note: Dotted line: EU-25=100; Terms in brackets: probability of error. Source: Eurostat, Austrian Institute of Economic Research calculations. 2. Central Europe is Integrated into the Economy of the European Union The economy in Central Europe has been developing dynamically not at least due to foreign trade. In 2003, exports from the four countries of Central Europe were 2.3 times higher than in 1995; imports increased 2.1-fold in this time period. In contrast to that, exports and imports in the European Union (EU-25) each increased 1.7-fold. In the transition countries foreign trade has completely adapted to the European Union market; in Austria after the accession to the EU in 1995 trade was further intensified. More than two thirds of the exports from the Central European countries go to the countries of the EU-15, more than three fourths to the countries of the EU-25. In the meantime, Central Europe is closely integrated into the division of labour within Europe; the emphasis is upon trade with semi-finished goods of relatively low quality. The competitive advantage of low labour costs is evident particularly in labour and technology intensive industries that use many blue-collar skilled labourers. The medium term development in the transition countries of Central Europe also tends toward trade in semi-finished and/or finished goods of higher quality. The opening of Central Europe to the West was not only evident in foreign trade, but also in direct foreign investment. The strong commitment of multi- national companies can be seen as evidence that Central Europe is advantageously located. Multinational companies are responsible for a large part of the comparably 90 WORKSHOPS NO. 9/2006 ECONOMIC CHALLENGES IN CENTROPE high business investments. 2003 in the new EU Member States 35% of GDP was made up of the capital stock of foreign direct investment. This is clearly higher than the worldwide figure (23%) and somewhat more than the EU-15 figure (33%). Austrian companies are also participating in this, and have thereby advanced their internationalization considerably. Multinational companies are very important for the economic development of Central Europe. Since foreign direct investment transfers modern know-how increase productivity, the technological catching-up process of the new EU Member States is furthered. Cost and efficiency motives are of particular importance in industries with middle and high technological levels. Foreign manufacturing companies have attained a level of productivity in the new EU Member States that is 60% higher than local businesses (Hunya-Geisheker, 2004). 3. Deficiencies of the Transportation and Education Infrastructures in Central Europe The process of catching-up has not yet been completed. There is still somewhat of a gap, particularly with regard to “modern” location factors. This is true both of the physical infrastructure as well as of schooling at higher qualification levels. In particular the transportation and communication infrastructures of the new EU Member States need to be modernised. This includes both the high quality development of local infrastructure within the individual countries as well as the interconnection between these countries. If CENTROPE is to develop into a region with intensive economic integration, then some infrastructure bottlenecks need to be eliminated. This shortcoming particularly hinders the division of labour within CENTROPE. Furthermore, the interconnection within the framework of the larger European transportation network is in need of improvement. In that way, opportunities arising from a favourable geographical location would multiply. With respect to the endowment in human resources, Central Europe does not have the best preconditions. That has caused a deficit in one of the most important competitive factors at this time. With respect to participation in the educational system, the problem is in the higher qualifying levels, not the lower levels. With regard to the participation at the university (tertiary) educational level, every one of the four Central European countries shows clear deficiencies with respect to the rest of Europe. The portion of the working age population with a tertiary education is 14.1% in Central Europe and 21.8% in the EU-25. The difference is even greater with respect to scientific-technical education: Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria are in bottom place among the members of the European Union. The amount of student exchange is also relatively small within CENTROPE.
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